Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: BREAKOUT! Reviews, Photos, Info

Kram Sacul

Kram Sacul

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
DHS’ Tower is truly spectacular inside and out and I can’t wait to go on it again later on in the year but that being said I miss the DCA version. It was shorter and less elaborate with no multiple ride profiles but it had it’s own unique things that set it apart and it felt more polished. The faster paced and more sinister narration, the mirror scene, the creepy color changing boiler room, etc. The library preshow was also an upgrade with rain sounds, projection and thunder effects. The DHS version just has simple lightning flashes.

The DCA Tower was also the version I rode first and it truly scared the crap out of me getting the guts to go on it the first few times. Mission: Budget Overlay is like going on a kiddie ride in comparison. The creepiness and sense of foreboding has been replaced by sci-fi goofiness. It’s fun but totally forgettable.
 
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Professortango1

Professortango1

Well-Known Member
The DHS TOT is gorgeous. I remember going on it in Jr High and I was floored. However, going back after the DCA Tower, it does feel dated. The 5th Dimension Room is very underwhelming visually. The Elevator Car moving horizontally is cool, but the visuals are so corny and slow that it looses impact. Plus, the car settling into the drop shaft is slow and nothing really is going on, kind of killing the build to the finale.

The DHS version is more focused on the TV show with the hallway window changing into the window from the show's opening, the 5th Dimension Room being filled with imagery from the opening, and the silent film that plays TZ footage at the bottom of the drop shaft. It has a campiness to it, as it about being sucked into an episode of this dated TV show.

The DCA version decided to focus more on the ghost story and eliminated the line about being in an episode of TZ. The TZ imagery was replaced with elements from the ghost story (dropping elevator/mirror scene) as well as subtle allusions to the show that work in the context of the ghost story (swirling spiral lighting). The pace is faster and has a better build and is far more scary.
 
Hatbox Ghostbuster

Hatbox Ghostbuster

Well-Known Member
TROR said:
I'm just going off what I've seen on video. I've never actually been to WDW.
[Prepares to get boo'd]
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mickEblu

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
GiveMeTheMusic said:
YouTube doesn't come close to approximating what rides really feel like. I would highly encourage you to go to WDW at some point to ride it. A lot of WDW is a garbage dump, but there are still some jewels there like TOT.
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I think after you have been on enough rides you can probably get 80% of the feel of most attractions, especially if you have been on its clone or something similar at another park. However, for Certain attractions like the Haunted Mansion or the 5th dimension room at TOT I agree with you.
 
shortstop

shortstop

Well-Known Member
Another thing that DCA missed the boat on is not having separate load/unload like DHS. Kind of kills the illusion at DCA when you have to walk through the exit hallway in between the boiler room and ride vehicle.

Someone said it earlier and I agree - as awful as I think GOTG is, I could never bring myself to get THAT upset over the change just because it bugged me that they cheaped out on DCA TOT. DHS’s from start to finish is one of the best attractions I’ve ever experienced. DCA’s was meh.
 
mickEblu

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
shortstop said:
Another thing that DCA missed the boat on is not having separate load/unload like DHS. Kind of kills the illusion at DCA when you have to walk through the exit hallway in between the boiler room and ride vehicle.

Someone said it earlier and I agree - as awful as I think GOTG is, I could never bring myself to get THAT upset over the change just because it bugged me that they cheaped out on DCA TOT. DHS’s from start to finish is one of the best attractions I’ve ever experienced. DCA’s was meh.
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So how would you feel if POTC at WDW was changed to an Avengers boat ride? I’m assuming you live in Florida?
 
shortstop

shortstop

Well-Known Member
mickEblu said:
So how would you feel if POTC at WDW was changed to an Avengers boat ride?
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LOL, you got me. Let me clarify and say I hate hate hate that they did this to TOT, as I still did enjoy the attraction. But I guess what I mean is I would’ve been more upset if they’d changed DHS’s.
 
CHOX

CHOX

Well-Known Member
I was at Hollywood a Studios in Florida last week and Tower of Terror consistently had a 10 to 20 minutes wait, so 45 minutes for GotG doesn’t seem so bad. Both parks are in renovation too, so I don’t think that plays too much into it.
 
Professortango1

Professortango1

Well-Known Member
shortstop said:
Another thing that DCA missed the boat on is not having separate load/unload like DHS. Kind of kills the illusion at DCA when you have to walk through the exit hallway in between the boiler room and ride vehicle.

Someone said it earlier and I agree - as awful as I think GOTG is, I could never bring myself to get THAT upset over the change just because it bugged me that they cheaped out on DCA TOT. DHS’s from start to finish is one of the best attractions I’ve ever experienced. DCA’s was meh.
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The hallway never bothered me as most people don't notice is as they are focused on getting through the elevator doors and finding their seat. I know I didn't notice it the first few times. Also, the pulling back at the start is a great surprise to start the attraction and its wonderfully bookended with the push back to reality. The DHS version starts okay without any bells or whistles, but the ending feels like you're in a darkride vehicle as you exit the shaft, see the silent film, then back to the exit doors.

One benefit of the DCA version, you get to have the same bellhop send you off and welcome you back. Its a great mind trip and plays into the horror trope of "did that really just happen or did I imagine it." With a different CM at unload in DHS, the ending feels like you're disembarking from a theme park ride as the closing CMs were blah.
 
Travel Junkie

Travel Junkie

Well-Known Member
A big part of the appeal to TOT in DHS is the approach. This is the definition of what Walt thought of as a weenie. Sunset Blvd is very well done with TOT looming at the end of the block. It's beautiful, alluring, imposing all wrapped up in one. It draws you in.

Yes the ride is far superior than DCA's version was, but that is barely half of the story.
 
GiveMeTheMusic

GiveMeTheMusic

Well-Known Member
Travel Junkie said:
A big part of the appeal to TOT in DHS is the approach. This is the definition of what Walt thought of as a weenie. Sunset Blvd is very well done with TOT looming at the end of the block. It's beautiful, alluring, imposing all wrapped up in one. It draws you in.

Yes the ride is far superior than DCA's version was, but that is barely half of the story.
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There's a lot of reasons DCA's version was thought of as inferior in the industry, and that sentiment made it a palatable target for retheming. Notice how much internal resistance happened when the redo was proposed for DHS as well - resistance that didn't exist for DCA.
 
TROR

TROR

Well-Known Member
GiveMeTheMusic said:
There's a lot of reasons DCA's version was thought of as inferior in the industry, and that sentiment made it a palatable target for retheming. Notice how much internal resistance happened when the redo was proposed for DHS as well - resistance that didn't exist for DCA.
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The weird thing is that MB doesn't fix any of the problems so what the heck was the point
 
__r.jr

__r.jr

Well-Known Member
With the "inferior" Tower of Terror in Anaheim notwithstanding, the overarching issue was it's removal simply on the basis of thematic integrity.

California Adventure's may have not been as ordinate as Tokyo's or as fully executed as Orlando's but at least it fit the idealistic time period and overall thematic narrative of the park.
 

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